There weren’t any real surprises on Friday on the men’s side though there was an upset on the women’s side with another huge near miss. Sixteenth-ranked Michigan had the biggest scare on the men’s side with Penn State taking them down to the wire on that deciding court. Penn State jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point but Michigan managed to take five opening sets in singles. Penn State’s Marc Collado won in straight sets at No. 5 while Michigan picked up straight set wins from Alex Knight, Runhao Hua, and Carter Lin at 3, 4, and 6. Lin’s match at No. 6 actually finished after Penn State’s Christian Lakoseljac won in three sets at No. 2 so the match would be decided in a third set at No. 1.

After splitting sets, Michigan senior Jathan Malik went up 3-0 in the third but Penn State sophomore Constant De La Bassetiere held and broke for 3-2. Malik broke back and held for 5-2 but De La Bassetiere wouldn’t go down quietly as he held for 5-3 and broke for 5-4. Malik would break back to close it out 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.

#16 Michigan 4, Penn State 3
March 24, 2017 at State College, PA
Singles competition
No. 1 — Jathan Malik (U-M) d. C. De La Bassetiere (PSU), 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
No. 2 — Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) d. Myles Schalet (U-M), 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 6
No. 3 — Alex Knight (U-M) d. Aws Laaribi (PSU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 — Runhao Hua (U-M) d. C. Antonopoulos (PSU), 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 — Marc Collado (PSU) d. Kevin Wong (U-M), 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 — Carter Lin (U-M) d. Ben Lieb (PSU), 6-4, 7-6
Doubles competition
No. 1 — Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (U-M) vs. De La Bassetiere/Christian Lakoseljac (PSU), 5-3 (abandoned)
No. 2 — C. Antonopoulos/David Kohan (PSU) d. Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (U-M), 6-4
No. 3 — Aws Laaribi/Ben Lieb (PSU) d. Connor Johnston/Gabe Tishman (U-M), 6-3
Match Notes
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 4, 5, 3, 2, 6, 1 

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The biggest upset of the day came in Tuscaloosa as No. 45 Alabama defeated No. 13 Kentucky 4-2. Alabama claimed the doubles point and then Erin Routliffe and Andie Daniell added straight sets wins at No. 1 and No. 2. Kentucky pulled to within 3-2 after Mami Adachi and Justina Mikulskyte won in straight sets at No. 3 and No. 5 but Alabama’s Smith Hinton would get the clinch at No. 4 with a 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 win over Emily Fanning. 

#45 Alabama 4, #13 Kentucky 2
Mar 24, 2017 at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Alabama Tennis Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #38 Erin Routliffe (UA) def. #19 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK) 6-3, 6-4
2. Andie Daniell (UA) def. #125 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) 6-2, 7-5
3. Mami Adachi (UK) def. Danielle Spielmann (UA) 6-2, 7-5
4. Smith Hinton (UA) def. Emily Fanning (UK) 6-0, 5-7, 6-3
5. Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Juliana Valero (UA) 6-4, 6-4
6. Kimberley Gintrand (UA) vs. Morgan Chumney (UK) 6-4, 6-7, 0-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #25 Maddie Pothoff/Erin Routliffe (UA) def. #4 Aldila Sutjiadi/Mami Adachi (UK) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Andie Daniell/Joanna Saava (UA) def. Morgan Chumney/Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) 6-3
3. Justina Mikulskyte/Emily Fanning (UK) def. Juliana Valero/Danielle Spielmann (UA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Kentucky 12-3, 4-2 SEC; National ranking
#13 Alabama 7-10, 1-6 SEC; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,2,3,4)
T-3:05

Top-ranked Florida had its backs against the wall in Fayetteville but managed to scratch out a 4-3 win over No. 18 Arkansas. Florida took the doubles point and four first sets in singles though No. 5 and No. 6 singles didn’t start until the other matches were a good 45 minutes in due to some issues with the courts. Florida’s Belinda Woolcock put the Gators in front 3-2 with a win at No. 1 but Arkansas’s Giulia Pairone led 5-3 in the third at No. 5 while Natsuho Arakawa led 5-2 in the third at No. 6.

Florida’s Spencer Liang held for 3-5 at No. 6 and then she broke for 4-5 but Arakawa would break back on a lengthy point to take it 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the decider at No. 5, Florida’s Brooke Austin erased that 5-3 deficit to force a tiebreak and then she’d take the final two points of the tiebreak to win 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5).

Ninth-ranked Texas Tech won its eighth match in a row with a close 4-2 win at No. 22 Texas. Texas Tech junior Katelyn Jackson clinched the match with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 6 while the other match at No. 5 went unfinished with it even at 5-5 in the third set. 

#9 Texas Tech 4, #22 Texas 2
Mar 24, 2017 at Austin, Texas (Weller Indoor Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #17 Gabriela Talaba (TTU) def. #37 Bianca Turati (UT) 6-4, 6-0
2. #98 Neda Koprcina (UT) def. #56 Felicity Maltby (TTU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Alex Valenstein (TTU) def. #84 Petra Granic (UT) 1-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. Anna Turati (UT) def. Sarah Dvorak (TTU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Dani Wagland (UT) vs. Sabrina Federici (TTU) 6-1, 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
6. Katelyn Jackson (TTU) def. Daniella Roldan (UT) 6-7 (8-10), 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Petra Granic/Bianca Turati (UT) def. #36 Sabrina Federici/Sarah Dvorak (TTU) 6-1
2. #73 Gabriela Talaba/Felicity Maltby (TTU) def. Neda Koprcina/Anna Turati (UT) 6-2
3. Alex Valenstein/Alba Cortina-Pou (TTU) def. Daniella Roldan/Dani Wagland (UT) 6-2
Match Notes:
Texas Tech 15-3, 3-0 Big 12; National ranking #9
Texas 7-6, 1-2 Big 12; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,1,3,4,6)
T-2:45

The Texas Tech men picked up their biggest win of the season with a 4-1 win over No. 28 Memphis. Texas Tech won the doubles point by winning the decider at No. 3 in a tiebreak and then despite dropping three opening sets, with four courts being used, they’d come back to get wins from Jolan Cailleau, Bjorn Thomson, and Alex Sendegeya. 

Texas Tech 4, #28 Memphis 1
03/21/17 at Lubbock, TX (The Falls Tennis and Athletic Club)
Singles competition
1. #42 Jolan Cailleau (TT) def. Ryan Peniston (MEMPHIS) 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1
2. #60 Bjorn Thomson (TT) def. #75 Andrew Watson (MEMPHIS) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) 3. Kai Lemke (MEMPHIS) def. Connor Curry (TT) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
4. Alex Sendegeya (TT) def. Chris Patzanovsky (MEMPHIS) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5
5. Carlos DiLaura (TT) vs. Jan Pallares (MEMPHIS) 1-4, unfinished
6. Felix Rauch (MEMPHIS) vs. Jackson Cobb (TT) no result
Doubles competition
1. #24 Connor Curry/Bjorn Thomson (TT) def. Kai Lemke/Andrew Watson (MEMPHIS) 6-4
2. Ryan Peniston/Felix Rauch (MEMPHIS) def. Carlos DiLaura/Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-4
3. Alex Sendegeya/Jackson Cobb (TT) def. Jan Pallares/Matt Story (MEMPHIS) 7-6 (7-5)
Match Notes:
Memphis 12-4; National ranking #28
Texas Tech 8-10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,1,4)
T-3:12 A-155

Quotes from Texas Tech’s recap

“The biggest thing is that the guys are starting to show some perseverance,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “Earlier on in the season, we didn’t show maturity on the court. The guys are starting to feel more comfortable, and they feel confident in the tight moments. We lost a few tiebreakers early on in singles, but we were able to win the biggest ones. We clinched the doubles, and Bjorn won a big one in the third set.”

“The doubles point was big especially against a team like Memphis,” Masi said. “We knew they were going to be rock solid all the way through their singles lineup. It was big not to put the guys in a hole early. More importantly, Alex and Jackson had been on the cusp on winning one of these tight matches. They’ve come up short a few times, but I told them right before the tiebreaker that this one was yours. They come up big with some good points to bring it home.”

“Both Bjorn and Alex lost the first set, but they came back to win the next two. They showed some good fight and will there. Bjorn broke back in the third after being down early and saved three match points at 5-6. He’s such a competitor and so is Alex. His third set went back and forth. He could have easily gotten frustrated. At 5-5, he broke his opponent and served out a pretty good last game.”

Other Notable Men’s Results

• #1 Wake Forest def. Clemson 6-1
• #2 Virginia def. NC State 7-0
• #3 Ohio State def. Michigan State 7-0
• #20 Northwestern def. #50 Purdue 4-0
• #26 South Carolina def. #41 Vanderbilt 4-2
• #29 Florida State def. #34 Louisville 4-0
• #32 Minnesota def. Nebraska 7-0
• #38 Notre Dame def. Virginia Tech 4-3
• #39 Old Dominion def. Middle Tennessee State 4-3
• Pepperdine def. St. Mary’s 4-0
• Dartmouth def. #46 South Alabama 4-2
• Portland def. San Francisco 4-2
• East Tennessee State def. Mercer 5-2 – snapped Mercer’s 16-match winning streak

Other Notable Women’s Results

• #3 Georgia def. #28 Ole Miss 4-2
• #4 North Carolina def. Virginia Tech 7-0
• #6 Georgia Tech def. Pitt 4-0
• #8 Vanderbilt def. #11 Auburn 5-2
• #17 Duke def. #29 Virginia 6-1
• #21 Kansas def. West Virginia 4-0
• #24 South Carolina def. #44 Missouri 4-2
• #25 Mississippi State def. #23 Tennessee 4-0
• #30 Florida International def. South Florida 5-1
• #35 NC State def. #26 Notre Dame 4-3
• #38 Washington def. Utah 4-0
• Boston College def. #37 Miami FL 6-1